A 64-year-old man walked into a southeastern Michigan police station today and opened fire, precipitating a shootout that ended with him dead and a police officer wounded, police said.

The man, who was not immediately identified, entered the building that houses the Southfield Police Department around 2:20 p.m. with a handgun and pointed it at an officer sitting behind bullet-proof glass, said police spokesman Lt. Nick Loussia.

Refusing requests to put down the gun, the man started firing at the desk officer, according to Loussia. The first officer to respond - a sergeant in his 50s who has been with the Southfield force for more than 25 years - was shot in the shoulder, said Loussia.

That officer and others returned fire, hitting the shooter. Both wounded men were treated at the scene and moved to a nearby hospital, the police spokesman said.

The 64-year-old later died from his injuries at the hospital. Loussia said authorities do not know why the man opened fire at the police station.

The wounded officer, meanwhile, is in stable condition. "Our thoughts and prayers are with the officer and his family," Loussia said.

A similar incident less than two years ago about 15 miles to the southeast, in Detroit, prompted police in Southfield to take additional security precautions, according to Loussia. In that case, a 38-year-old man accused of kidnapping and sexually assaulting a 13-year-old girl wounded four officers when he opened fire in a Detroit police station, before he himself was shot dead.

In addition to protective glass around the desk area, only the lobby of the police station in Southfield - a city of about 72,000 people - is open to public, said Loussia.

Poor old guy must have been at his wits end. I'm glad the cop didn't die. I wonder if he had been brutalized by the police in the past. Most of the people I have met in my life that hate cops have at some point been physically hurt by them. I wish the police would be less about hurting and more about helping.

I have known so many bad cops in my life. Most of them where I live are just criminals with a badge. Can't say how these cops are, but I would guess there are a few bad apples. We will never know if he had a bone to pick with one of them or not, since the cops have a way of looking out for themselves.

Other news outlets have now identified the man who was shot in the Southfield police station on Veteran's Day. He was a troubled military veteran with no criminal record who had been battling throat cancer for a number of years. Harold Joseph Collins did not respond when the officer asked if he could help him, because he was unable to speak. This has got to be one of the saddest cases of suicide by cop I have ever heard of happening. The guy even fired an empty chamber in his weapon first.
My sympathy goes out to this troubled soul, & his family. Plus the police officers with their families. This is a tragedy for everyone involved. May they all find help, & peace.

Yes, it does appear to be SBC. Or he was mentally imbalanced. Could be that he was diagnosed with a fatal disease and decided his best option was to end it by firing at a room full of cops. The problem with SBC is that you are deeply impacting another person's life - the cops who killed him, no matter how jusified their actions, still have to live with the reality that they took a human life.

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